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Don't Be Rude On The Road

14 Oct 2009 at 22:20

By Rob Warrilow, RAC Business Support

My journey to work is taking longer each day. It seems that as the days are getting shorter, the queues of rush-hour traffic are getting longer. Fair-weather cyclists returning to their cars for the Winter I guess? Here's a thought, aren't Britain's drivers the rudest and craziest in the world? Probably not if my experience is anything to go by.

My journey to work is taking longer each day. It seems that as the days are getting shorter, the queues of rush-hour traffic are getting longer. Fair-weather cyclists returning to their cars for the Winter I guess? Here's a thought, aren't Britain's drivers the rudest and craziest in the world? Probably not if my experience is anything to go by. In my (fairly limited) experience, drivers in most other countries start their horns before their engines. Even in what we like to think of as laid back and relaxed Holland, a Dutch friend assures me, if someone flashes his or her lights at you, it doesn't mean - Go ahead, I'm letting you through.- It means, "Get out of my way!" But it still seems like things are getting tougher on the roads here.

Cast your mind back to gentler times of the 1950s? If you can't quite remember that far back do a quick search on YouTube or similar for the 1959 Public Service Information film 'Don't Be Rude On The Road'. Exercising the due caution required for any search including the word 'Rude'.

For those of you who don't want to risk it, what you should find a is stylized cartoons of men with moustaches and Trilby's doffing their hats at a junction saying 'After you!' 'No, aaaafter yoou!' The tagline of the campaign was "Don't Be Rude On The Road"!

According to the RAC Report On Motoring 2009, over 90% of drivers think that they are 'law abiding' on the road. RAC motoring report So at least we all think we are good drivers. I'm not sure if they asked drivers what percentage of other people they thought were law-abiding. I think the answer would be different. Still, I'm sure good behaviour is contagious so if we all try and drive as well as we think we do, the road will be a safer and happier place. And, of course, we should never, never be rude on the road!